What are you listening 2 now?

[vandermolen]

Madetoja: Symphony no. 2 and Kullervo



For whatever reason, the first time I listened to this fine symphony I was slightly underwhelmed by it, given its esteemed reputation amongst like-minded listeners. Not so during this recent revisit! It's a beautiful, atmospheric, and organic work - not infrequently reminiscent of Sibelius, but none the worse for that I say! The work's link to the Finnish Civil War (in which Madetoja's brother perished) can be heard in the dramatic third movement and resigned (though not tragic or depressing) coda. Kullervo is a rousing tone poem that needn't blush beside Sibelius' Kalevala-inspired works. For my money, the best Madetoja disc on the market!


Brahms: Piano Sonata no. 3



One of my favorite piano sonatas - I especially love the imposing, Gothic nature of the first movement. And the whole work is filled with marvelous tunes! I thought this performance perhaps lacked a bit of forward motion in the first movement, but it's otherwise very fine.


Peteris Barisons: Symphony no. 2 Romantic



An example where a composer's neglected is justified, IMHO. It's certainly no match for Hanson's similarly titled 2nd Symphony, that's for sure! Really, this is just very generic stuff, going through the motions of late-romantic symphonic writing without contributing anything special or memorable to the proceedings. The slow movement was rather nice actually, but I lost patience before the finale and had to turn it off. Next!


Malipiero: random orchestral works



I found this disc to be a supreme disappointment compared to the other Malipiero/La Vecchia disc on Naxos featuring the early Impressioni dal vero and Pauze del silenzio. It confirmed my hunch that I find Malipiero's earlier works significantly more appealing than his later ones. The two later works, the Fantasie di ogni giorno and Passacaglie (from the 1950s), I found quite dry and uninteresting (and downright weird!), despite fine performances. The slightly earlier Concerti for Orchestra (1931) is the only work on the album I felt compelled to listen to in full. It's still quite reserved and acerbic, but has a certain interest in the way Malipiero spotlights different sections of the orchestra in each movement. I find it ironic how an Amazon reviewer called this music "lush and emotional" - I found it anything but! Perhaps Spotted Horses might find the music on this disc to be of higher quality that I did....


Hailstork: Symphony no. 2 (1995)



IMO, one of the finest works composed by an American in the past 30 or so years. It's a predominantly dark work inspired by his visit to Africa where he saw the dungeons where the slaves were kept before being sent overseas. A stabbing brass chord immediately grabs the attention at the very opening. A mysterious slow movement follows, with mysterious drum beats underpinning the texture at various points. But best of all are the scherzo and finale, which are filled with whirlwind energy and excitingly virtuosic orchestral writing. The contrast between dance-like elements and threating, looming catastrophe put me in mind of some of Malcolm Arnold's symphonic movements. Just thrilling stuff - Cesar, Jeffrey, anyone else know this work?

+1 for that fine Madetoja CD  - that's my favourite of his symphonies, although I like all three of them very much. My Amazon account tells me that I bought that Hailstork CD in 2008 but I can't remember much about it - I must try to fish it out of my collection!

[vandermolen]

Based on hearing a couple of his works, it's really tempting to pick that box up! There's a used copy on eBay for about $80; I'm not able to buy it now, but perhaps in the somewhat-near future (if it's still available at that price.) And I want to pick up the Harald Genzmer box too (which you also recommended!) That's in addition to hundreds of other discs on my wishlist...

Will do, Jeffrey! Thanks for the recommendation.

TD:
Sir Eugene Goossens
*Phantasy Concerto
Symphony no. 1
*Howard Shelley, piano
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Richard Hickox
(on Spotify)



Pleasant enough music, but nothing stood out to me...

I like both Goossens symphonies - I find them quite Baxian (Christo likes No. 1 as well). Unfortunately the best recording of Symphony No.1 with David Measham and the Adelaide SO (Unicorn LP) never made it to CD.

[Que]

Morning listening on Spotify:



Motets, canzonas and sonatas by Venetian masters from the time of Monteverdi: Bassano, Giovanni (c.1661–1617); Filago, Carlo (1589-1644); Marini, Biagio (c.1597-1665); Merulo, Claudio (1533–1604); Picchi, Giovanni (1571–1643; Riccio, Giovanni Battista (fl.1609-21)

[Maestro267]

Sibelius: Symphony No. 4
Philharmonia Orchestra/Ashkenazy

[vandermolen]

Before work: Honegger 'Horace victorieux':

[Tsaraslondon]

Terrific live performances from Mravinsky, though the audiences are a bit bronchial, particularly in the tenth.

[Florestan]

D959

Pleasantly surprised. No dirge-like atmopshere at all and despite the claims in the booklet, no attempt at plumbing "Brucknerian profundity". The music flows naturally. A fine performance that confounded my low expectations in the best possible way.



I had forgotten how delightful this music was.

[Operafreak]

Johann Sebastian Bach - Rafał Blechacz-  Rafał Blechacz (piano)

[Maestro267]

No, all birds are beautiful. They are waking you up to face another beautiful day on planet Earth.

[DavidW]

I listened to Hewitt in some of Bach's keyboard concertos.  The recording was absolutely awful.  Not only does the modern piano threaten to overwhelm the orchestra, but the engineers miked it that way!  The orchestra is relegated to elevator music in the background while Hewitt is front and center stage.  What makes it worse is how shockingly dull and uninspired her performance is!  It is absolutely the worst recording of I've heard of these fine works.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need some period instrument Bach to wash my ears out!

[Biffo]

BartoK: Dance Suite - London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Georg Solti

[listener]

Carl CZERNY: Grand Nocturne Brillant op. 95,  Grand Concerto in a op. 214
Variations de Concert on the Marche des Grecs from Rossin's La Siège de Corinth op.138
Josef HOLBROOKE:  Variations on Auld Lang Syne  op. 60      Violin Concerto "The Grasshopper" op. 59
The Raven, Poem for Orchestra no.1
Judith Ingolfsson, violin     Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester      Howard Griffiths, cond.
BRIDGE: String Sextet in Eb,  HOLST: Scherzo for String Sextet    HOLBROOKE: String Sextet in D, op. 43
Kölner Streichsextett

[Madiel]

Rachmaninov: Prince Rostislav, The Rock and Capriccio Bohémien.

[Spotted Horses]

I found this disc to be a supreme disappointment compared to the other Malipiero/La Vecchia disc on Naxos featuring the early Impressioni dal vero and Pauze del silenzio. It confirmed my hunch that I find Malipiero's earlier works significantly more appealing than his later ones. The two later works, the Fantasie di ogni giorno and Passacaglie (from the 1950s), I found quite dry and uninteresting (and downright weird!), despite fine performances. The slightly earlier Concerti for Orchestra (1931) is the only work on the album I felt compelled to listen to in full. It's still quite reserved and acerbic, but has a certain interest in the way Malipiero spotlights different sections of the orchestra in each movement. I find it ironic how an Amazon reviewer called this music "lush and emotional" - I found it anything but! Perhaps Spotted Horses might find the music on this disc to be of higher quality that I did....

I might. When I started listening to the de Almeida symphony cycle I tended to find myself more attracted to the late works than the earlier ones.

Just listened to Malipiero Symphony No 7, which is halfway between early and late.



When I first put it on I was a little put off that the recording perspective was a bit more distance and reverberant than later volumes in the series, but I quickly got accustomed to it, and it worked out well for the dramatic brass writing later in the piece. Thoroughly enjoyed.

[Lisztianwagner]

Sergei Rachmaninov
Symphonic Dances

[Mapman]

I think the technical issue also causes musical issues: it ruined the ending of the 2nd movement. It's the kind of interpretive decision that sticks out and makes you question whether it is in the score. In this case, it is not. The rest of the performance was fine, but not memorable. (The rest of the cycle could be better; I haven't heard it.)

I unfortunately don't know how it compares to your favorite recordings. (I am younger than many members here, and I generally prefer to explore new music instead of alternative recordings.) I can say that there are recordings (such as Karajan/EMI) that I prefer to Mäkelä, and that I have no plans to buy the Mäkelä. (If I were to buy another Sibelius cycle, it would probably be Davis/Boston.)

I ended up listening again, and I have to take back what I said. The end of the 2nd movement is played correctly, but it took me many listens to realize that. On my first listen (with the score) and several more, I was convinced that it was wrong. This raises an interesting question: is a recording bad if it sounds wrong, even though it isn't?

I'd now say that Mäkelä's recording of Sibelius 6 is slow and heavy. A great example is near the end of the 2nd movement, where the strings have continuous 16th notes. Mäkelä makes it so that you can hear every note clearly. Karajan (both EMI and DG, as well as many other conductors) perform it faster, and with less emphasis on each note: this makes it feel like a texture instead of an attempt at a melodic line. I like Karajan's version better. The swirly lines in the 3rd movement are similarly less effective than in other recordings, like Maazel/Pittsburgh (I quite like the 3rd movement in that recording, even if otherwise it isn't the best).

I also sampled the end of the 1st movement of the 5th symphony. The timpani are somewhat buried, and Colin Davis/Boston is simply more exciting.

I can still say that I won't be listening to more of Mäkelä's Sibelius in the near future.

[Brian]

Why do the different players play in different discs of this series?

I don't know why Naxos is using multiple pianists.  You would have to contact the company for a definitive answer.

Very very late to reply to this, but I know the answer. Naxos uses the complete Scarlatti, Soler, and Liszt as audition discs for young pianists coming out of conservatory looking for recording deals. It's basically their way of scouting for new talent. You'll see a lot of them are actually recorded at university recital halls around the world, which is why the sound quality is so variable.

A lot of international piano competitions have "record a Naxos album" as one of the prize deals. I believe (but cannot prove) that these winners are asked if they want to do a Laureate Series release of the works they played in the competition, or Scarlatti or Liszt. Basically.

[Operafreak]

Visions

Lavinia Meijer (harp)




 

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Weinberg
Symphony No. 3 in B minor, Op. 45
Gothenburg SO
Thord Svedlund

[DavidW]